It Starts & Ends with a Kiss
by fatheartsarewhatcounts
Summary: Based on a prompt (which is inside story but too long for summary), the story of how Beca kissing Jesse at Lincoln Centre starts a chain of events which result in Chloe and Beca's relationship hanging in the balance. With Chloe left heartbroken, Beca has to find a way to show her friend that she means it when she says that she's there to stay.


Prompt: **Chloe is in love with Beca and when she sees the kiss between Beca and Jesse she is devastated and runs out of the Lincon Center. but Beca kissed Jesse goodbye. and when she tries to talk to Aubrey because she can't find Chloe. Aubrey explains everything to her because she can't see Chloe this broken, Beca confesses her feelings for Chloe. But Chloe doesn't want to talk to Beca, so Beca makes a mixtape for Chloe with just lovesongs and her voice at the end confessing her love. (: **

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Adrenaline was coursing on overdrive through Chloe's veins as she brandished the trophy, the atmosphere in the room so tangible that you could almost taste the uncontainable excitement that was pulsing through the area. The crowd was roaring deafeningly, and all Chloe could think of was that they'd finally done it. They had won Nationals, kicked ass at Lincoln Center, they had proved themselves as an established and awesome a capella group. She couldn't believe that it was all happening now- that she'd succeeded in the competition that had been her sole focus for the last two years. But, as she was engulfed by a crowd of her fellow Bella's in a huge group hug where basically everyone was shouting their own versions of, "Holy shit we won!" she knew that they really had done it. Her dream had finally become a reality.

And there was only one person in her mind. One person she wanted to share this wonderful moment with, one person she wanted to have run up towards her and sweep her into a crushing bear hug in their excitement.

Beca.

Chloe suddenly had an insane moment of courage, probably to do with the high that she was running on from their recent victory, and knew that she was going to tell the brunette how she felt. Either way, win or lose, heartbreak or uncontainable joy, yes or no, she decided that she didn't care anymore. All she wanted was to feel Beca's lips on hers, to experience what it was like to wrap her arms around the petite brunette and know that for once, the person in her arms was truly hers and no one could take that away from her. And the only way she had any chance of doing so was by taking a chance and putting herself out there.

So she disentangled herself from her friends and began to search the room for the brunette. She was beginning to think that Beca had left (well, I suppose looking for someone that tiny in a room that full isn't very easy to begin with), when she saw a flash of the brunette locks that Chloe loved so much. She followed the girl through the crowd and watched as Beca ran up to Jesse and pulled him into… a kiss. A kiss?! What? No, it couldn't be. Chloe refused to believe that Beca, _her_ Beca (even though the cynical voice in the back of her head alerted her to the fact that Beca wasn't really hers), was currently engaged in a lip lock with none other than _Jesse_. She couldn't be! _Chloe_ was the one who was in love with her, not that ass. But she knew, in the rational part of her mind that that _was_ Beca, and she _was _kissing Jesse. Not Chloe.

It was like someone had stuck their hand into Chloe's stomach and was twisting around her insides, hell-bent on causing her as much pain as they could. The trophy that she'd been holding slipped out of her hands and fell to the floor with a loud clang that was lost in the buzz of the room. Chloe couldn't tear her eyes away from them, the girl she loved in the arms of someone else. It was like the scene of a car collision. Painfully agonizing to see, but impossible to stop looking at. And suddenly, she knew she needed to get out of there. Because everyone was celebrating away when the world was falling down around her and she didn't know how to cope. So she ran, trying to stifle the sobs that were fighting their way to the surface.

Beca pulled away from Jesse, who had a dazed expression. He grinned at her, and she felt something in the pit of her stomach. But it wasn't what one might expect. It wasn't that uncontainable joy that comes from being close to the one person that sets your world on fire, but more of a feeling of dread, or perhaps regret. Because kissing him wasn't what she'd expected. It didn't do crazy things inside her and send electricity pulsing through her veins like it does in all those stupidly clichéd romantic comedies that she hated. Instead of the googly eyed goofy grin that should have ensued, all she could feel was that she was making a big mistake.

And Jesse could see it in her eyes as he watched her dark blue orbs searching for someone else in the room. For Chloe.

"It's not me, is it?" Jesse asked gently, looking down at the brunette with a sad smile. Beca began to talk, but he cut her off. "It's ok, Beca. I kind of expected it. I know how you feel about Chloe." At this, Beca's eyebrows shot up as her mouth formed an 'o' shape and he chuckled. "Of course I know, anyone with eyes can see the crazy connection between you two. I've kind of been waiting for you to realize it all along, just enjoying my time with you till you did. And I just want to you to know that it's ok. Things are fine between us. Let's just think of this as a goodbye, ok?"

Beca smiled at him. "I'm really sorry."

He waved his hand as if to shake it off. "Honestly Beca, it's ok. Someone as amazing as you really shouldn't have to settle."

"You're a great friend, you know that?" Beca told him, leaning in to place a quick peck on his check before backing away.

"I know, I know, I'm the best." He muttered, grinning lazily. "Now go get your girl, Becs. Woo her like in those stupid romantic cliché movies you hate so much. Hell, you could even do something really crazy like standing outside of her dorm with a boom box." He chuckled to himself, knowing that Beca would feel far too awkward and silly doing something that corny. "Good luck!" He called as she disappeared into the crowd. Beca grinned, adrenaline rushing through her body as she thought about what she was about to do.

Since she couldn't find Chloe anywhere, the brunette approached the next best person (well, in this situation only, she thought)- Aubrey. The blonde was still celebrating heartily on the stage, currently cheering with Fat Amy as they took turns taking swigs of the bottle of tequila someone had brought. Beca rolled her eyes and cut through the mass of bodies to the blonde.

"Aubrey!" She had to shout to get heard over the sound of everybody else in the area. Aubrey looked around and then saw Beca and grinned widely.

"Hey Beca!" She yelled, pulling the brunette into a sloppy embrace. "I wanted to say thank you! Without you, we definitely wouldn't have won this thing, and I'm sorry I was such a tight ass and took so long to realize how awesome you are. You're greaaaat." Aubrey drawled, taking a big sip of the alcohol in her hand. Beca bit her lip to keep from laughing at the blonde, who she could tell was definitely a little intoxicated. Sober Aubrey would never admit to being wrong, no matter the situation.

"Uh, thanks, Aubrey." Beca told her. "I was just wondering, have you seen Chloe anywhere? There's something I need to talk to her about."

Aubrey's eyebrow cocked up and she smiled knowingly. "I'm guessing you're going to discuss your major toner for her. I'm right, aren't I?" She added after seeing Beca's frown. Beca really couldn't believe she was that obvious. She was going to have to work on it, because it was starting to piss her off that everyone knew stuff about her before she even figured it out herself.

"Yeah, whatever. But do you know where she is? It's like she's disappeared off the face of the earth."

Aubrey shrugged with an apologetic expression, opening her mouth to say that she hadn't even seen Chloe since the competition when her phone chirped as if on cue. "Hold on." She muttered, pulling it out and reading through the message quickly. Whatever was there sobered her up immediately and her demeanor changed to that of a concerned friend instead of her previous giggly and excited attitude.

"Was that Chloe? What did she say?" Beca asked, trying to figure out what was going on. Aubrey frowned at her.

"I, uh, have to go. Bye." The blonde muttered, turning on her heel and strolling out of the room without a second glance, leaving Beca standing there feeling deeply confused. She decided that she should pursue Aubrey since she had no other idea of where Chloe might be and Aubrey's strange behavior had her thinking.

Beca followed the blonde all the way back to what she recognized as Aubrey and Chloe's shared dorm room. From a small distance, she watched as Aubrey let herself in and through the opened door, Beca caught a sight of Chloe sitting on the couch in a ball, still in her Bella's costume with tears streaming down her face and her makeup in a disarray. Seeing Chloe this broken and helpless broke Beca's heart and she felt her heart jump into her throat. Chloe was hurting. Someone had made Chloe sad, someone had caused her pain. A random thought fluttered through Beca's mind, that she wanted to beat the shit out of whoever had done it. She failed to realize that _she_ was the root of Chloe's problems.

If she had known that, it probably would have prevented the actions that followed from occurring. Because if she'd known, going up to their apartment and knocking on the door would've seemed rather insensitive and she probably would have refrained from doing so. But, as mentioned, she was absolutely clueless so she took a deep breath and marched up to the entrance, knocking twice and very loudly so it couldn't be missed.

Aubrey pulled the door open after a few moments, and Beca noticed she looked rather frazzled and stressed. When the blonde saw who it was, she rolled her eyes before shooting a look back inside the apartment to check on Chloe. Beca could hear water running so she assumed the redhead was in the shower.

"Let's talk outside." Aubrey murmured, stepping out and looking expectantly at Beca, who nodded.

After they'd walked a small distance, the snow crunching under their feet in the cold night, Beca turned to Aubrey. "What's wrong with Chloe? Why is she crying?" She asked, trying not to spit out too many questions at once but finding it very hard.

Aubrey sighed and turned to Beca. "She's just having a hard time at the moment. She kind of had her heart broken and she needs some time. Can you give her that?" Aubrey asked pointedly.

Beca bit her lip. "Aubrey, please can I go see her? I really want to help her through this. She's one of my best friends. And I love her. So I should be allowed to at least be there for her."

Aubrey scowled and stopped, turning to Beca. "Oh my god! It's so frustrating sometimes." She muttered. "Why don't you see it? Are you really that clueless? God, Beca, I didn't think that this level of ignorance was humanly possible." Aubrey told her, her voice rising in her anger.

Beca was only made more confused by this.

"What the hell, Aubrey?"

"I'm going to have to spell it out, aren't I?" Aubrey muttered, more to herself than the brunette beside her. "Chloe has a thing for you! And she's in there crying her heart out right now because she saw you kissing Jesse and thinks she has no chance. So, you have to go. Give her some space. Don't stick your head in and fucking mess with her again. You should at least give her that after everything you put her through."

Beca did a double take and stared at Aubrey, her mouth hanging open. She froze for a second. "No way. No effing way. You're shitting me aren't you? Seriously, Aubrey, what's really going on?"

Aubrey sighed, and Beca heard her mutter something under her breath that sounded like, "Wow, you're even dumber than I thought."

"Beca, it _is_ true."

"Well, I need to go see her! Aubrey, you have to let me talk to her. That kiss with Jesse, that was us ending whatever we momentarily had. Jesse's just my friend. I need to tell her that."

Aubrey shook her head, shrugging. "She said she doesn't want to talk to anyone, especially not you. Sorry, Beca. But you just need to let her have some space. If you want to help her like you said, this is how. I have to go now. She's probably finished in the shower. Goodnight." Aubrey murmured, giving Beca a tight smile before going back to her dorm. As the door clicked closed, Beca knew she had to do something. And she had just the idea. So she buried her hands into the pockets of her winter jacket and set off for her room, hunching over to shield herself from the onslaught of snowflakes.

The next morning, Chloe awoke to the sound of someone knocking on the front door. She scowled at the unknown intruder for pulling her out of her sleep and called that she would just be a minute. Dragging herself out of bed with a groan, she donned her dressing gown and padded over to the door, trying to ignore the heavy feeling of emptiness weighing down on her. She pulled it open to see Beca standing in front of her, dressed in a woolly scarf and a brown trench coat, looking very cute in her winter getup. Seeing this was like someone was pulling at her fresh wounds, ripping at the edges of them just to remind her of the potential they had to cause her pain.

Beca held up her hands to silence Chloe, and the redhead noticed a small, plastic case in her hand.

"I know you don't want to see me, or talk to me. Aubrey told me. And I just wanted to say that I'm really sorry for hurting you. I mean that." Beca added, shooting Chloe a meaningful look. "Anyway, it explains everything here. Please, for me, just listen to it." Beca handed the confused older woman the object, which turned out to be a CD case. Without another word, Beca stood on her tiptoes to place a quick kiss on Chloe's cheek before turning around and walking away rather quickly. Chloe was left standing there in a daze, clutching at the spot where Beca's lips had met her skin, as it was tingling with electricity and a blush was creeping up her cheeks. Closing the door and trudging over to the couch, Chloe sat down and placed the CD into the player. She wasn't sure at all what to expect, but she certainly wasn't expecting what followed. The first thing she heard was Beca's voice.

"Uh, hey, Chlo. I know this is super corny and lame and possibly weird, but this is a disc of all the songs that come to mind when I think of you. Just listen to the lyrics. Okay. Here you go." Beca trailed off awkwardly and Chloe heard the beep of a button being pressed, probably to end the recording. The first song that came on was _She's So High_ by Alex Goot. As Chloe listened to the some of lyrics, a tear trickled down her face.

_I know where I belong, and nothing's going to happen._

_'Cause she's so high, high above me, she's so lovely._

_What can a guy like me ever really offer? She's perfect as she can be, why should I even bother?_

The next song on the playlist was _A Million Years_ By Alexander Ebert.

_Like a meteor crash, I'm gonna tell the world;_

_Been a million years full of fears but I found my girl._

After this came the Beatles' _I Will_. Chloe chuckled at the fact that Beca had chosen one of her favourite songs without even realizing. It was one of the things she loved about the girl, the fact that they'd so effortlessly connected without even meaning to.

_Who knows how long I've loved you, you know I love you still; will I wait a lonely lifetime? If you want me to, I will._

_Love you forever, and forever, love you with all my heart. Love you whenever we're together; love you when we're apart._

_And when at last I find you, your song will fill the air. Sing it loud so I can hear you, make it easy to be near you, for the things you do endear you to me. Oh you know, I will._

Track four was _I Would Do Anything for You_ by Foster the People. Chloe grinned because again, Beca had managed to put in one of Chloe's most loved songs. But she was starting to think that even if she didn't like these songs before, the way Beca gave them to her as a message meant that she would grow to love them all.

_Oo la love, I've fallen in love. And it's better this time than ever before._

Next up came _She's So Lovely_ by Scouting for Girls.

_I love the way she bites her lip; I love the way she shakes them hips. I love the way she makes me drool; I think that she is beautiful._

_She's so lovely._

Chloe giggled a little at the hips bit, remembering back to the hood night when she'd made the joke about her jiggle juice. She knew Beca had been checking her out, and now she had proof, she thought with a sly grin. She certainly wasn't going to let the brunette live_ that_ one down.

_My Girl_ by The Temptations followed.

_I've got sunshine on a cloudy day. When it's cold outside, I've got the month of May._

_I guess you'd say; what can make me feel this way?_

_My girl, talking 'bout my girl._

After that, a song also by The Temptations, _The Way You Do The Things You Do_, was playing. Chloe thought it was cute that Beca couldn't help but infuse the CD with some of the golden oldies. She knew the brunette was really a big softy.

_You got a smile so bright, you know you could have been a candle. I'm holding you so tight, you know you could have been a handle. The way you swept me off my feet, you know you could have been a broom. The way you smell so sweet, you know you could have been some perfume._

_Well, you could have been anything that you wanted to, and I can tell, the way you do the things you do._

_For You_, a song by a rather unknown but nevertheless great band called Tin Sparrow followed.

_Because my love, my love is there for you. For you, it's all for you._

_I hope, hope you know the truth. My time, my effort, my soul, it's all for you._

Bruno Mars' _Just The Way You Are_ was also on the CD, which made Chloe grin because it was their first time doing a duet together in an appropriate setting, and had been amazing to sing with Beca.

_When I see your face, there's not a thing that I would change. You're amazing, just the way you are. And when you smile, the whole word stops and stares for a while. 'Cos you're amazing, just the way you are._

The last song on the CD was _For Good_ by the cast of Wicked, which was Chloe's favourite musical, one she'd gushed about to the brunette on multiple occasions, stating that Beca "totes" had to go with her to see it one day.

_I've heard it said; that people come into our lives for a reason, bringing something we must learn, and we are led to those who help us most to grow if we let them; and we help them in return._

_Well, I don't know if I believe that's true, but I know I'm who I am today because I knew you._

_So much of me is made of what I learned from you; you'll be with me, like a handprint on my heart. And now whatever way our stories end, I know you have re-written mine by being my friend._

As the final notes of the last song echoed out into silence, there was another click and suddenly Chloe could hear Beca's voice on the CD again. She smiled at how out of her element Beca sounded, knowing the brunette must have felt really stupid doing it. But Chloe loved it.

"Uh, hey again, Chlo. I hope you liked this. Those were all the songs that sum up how I feel about you. I've never met anyone quite like you; you're the most amazing person I've ever known. And I'm really sorry that I hurt you. Just know that if you give me another chance, I'll never cause you any pain again if I can help it. And there's nothing between Jesse and I, he knew before I even did that it was always you. I love you. Not him. 'Cos you're the tits." Beca giggled, and Chloe remembered the day when they'd first met and she'd said something like that and Beca had been totally bewildered. There was a few seconds of silence, and then the brunette added quickly, "And also sorry for how queer balls and cheesy this is, I know that it's super lame but you like romantic shit like that so I thought what the hell. Ok. I'm going to stop rambling now. Bye." There was another click and then silence. Chloe was still sitting on the couch with a huge grin and tears streaming down her face. No one had ever done anything like that for her before.

After a few minutes, which Chloe spent sitting in stunned silence, Aubrey came out to check on her. The previous night had been horrible, mostly spent with Chloe crying her heart out and Aubrey watching helplessly but trying to be as comforting as possible, and Aubrey wanted to see if her friend was feeling any better. She hated to see Chloe suffering like this. She poked her head out of her room and, at the sight of Chloe on the couch, immediately crossed the room to her friend.

"Are you ok?" she asked in a concerned tone, rubbing Chloe reassuringly on the back. Chloe nodded, laughing through her tears.

"I'm great, actually. These ones are happy tears for a change." She responded, gesturing to her face. Aubrey frowned in confusion, not used to Chloe's sudden mood swings but sure she was going to get whiplash soon if they kept up.

"Okaaaaay." She said slowly, standing up. "Well, if you're sorted, I'm gonna go finish my essay because it's due tomorrow and my mom said just because I won Nationals doesn't mean I get to slack off." She muttered as she walked back to her room, throwing back one last look of apprehension before disappearing into it. Chloe grinned and knew she should probably get Aubrey some chocolate or something later for putting up with her last night. And then she couldn't help herself and clicked "Play" again to listen through the CD for the second time. This time around, however, she didn't make it to the end, having formed another plan that didn't involve sticking around her dorm any longer.

Unfortunately, this plan that had seemed so mastermind in the beginning also didn't involve her stopping to take a shower or put on clothes that weren't her old pajamas. So Chloe ended up running across Barden's campus at ten in the morning on a Saturday to Beca's dorm, when the grounds were jam-packed, looking like an absolute moron. She received a number of weird looks and catcalls among other things, but she didn't care. This was Beca Mitchell, for crying out loud. She'd be damned if she let that girl slip through her fingers again.

Ten minutes later, Beca's door was knocked on, and she opened it to see Chloe, dressed in the same dressing gown she'd had on earlier that morning, and her hair and makeup in major disarray with tear marks all over her face. To anyone else, it was not a pretty sight overall. But to Beca, it was the most beautifully glorious thing she'd ever seen. Beca smiled awkwardly and gestured for the redhead to come inside, much to Kimmy Jin's chagrin, who made a snide remark about Chloe's hair. Beca kindly requested that her roommate depart, and thankfully the girl obliged for once, leaving Beca and Chloe standing facing each other in an empty dorm. Beca wasn't sure about Chloe, but she knew what that meant. Or at least what she wanted it to mean.

Chloe looked down at Beca, meeting her eyes and smiling. "I love you, too, Beca. And thank you. That was the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me." Chloe told her, placing her hand on Beca's face to cup her cheek. Beca grinned, leaning into the redhead's hand, loving the feel of Chloe against her skin.

"I can't believe _that's_ the nicest thing you've ever had done for you. You deserve everything the world has to offer. Damn, I'll have to see to it that you get rained with splendid presents on a daily occurrence." Beca muttered, taking Chloe's hand that wasn't on her face and stroking the back of it with her thumb.

"You're a bit of a dork, you know that?" Chloe told her. Beca poked her tongue out in response. "Hey, I never said I didn't think it was amazingly sweet and totally endearing." Chloe pointed out.

Beca rolled her eyes. "Just shut up and kiss me."

Chloe pretended to scoff before beaming at Beca. "So demanding!" She chastised. Beca responded by rolling her eyes and leaning up to meet Chloe's lips, wrapping her arms around the redhead's neck as they kissed. Chloe's hands found rest on Beca's hips and pulled her closer, which Beca eagerly obliged to. It was the glorious electricity pulsing through one's body type of kiss, one that Beca was sure would leave her googly eyed and with a goofy grin like in those incredibly clichéd shudder inducing romantic movies she hated. But she didn't mind. In fact, as Chloe's tongue slid into her mouth and the redhead moaned sensually, all thought and reason of any kind were banished from Beca's mind.

It was pure bliss.


End file.
